Mail receptacle

ABSTRACT

A mail receptacle comprising a housing having forwardly and upwardly inclined front and rear walls, with the rear wall merging upwardly with a curved upper wall extending over and forwardly of the front wall to define a front opening in the housing. A door or baffle member is disposed within the housing opening and is hingedly connected to the upper portion of the front wall. The door member has a front panel and a rear panel having a shape and size that are substantially the same as those of the opening in the housing. The door member is pivotally movable between an open position wherein mail may be received on the front panel thereof and the rear panel thereof closes the opening in the housing, and a closed position wherein both the front and rear panels thereof are received within the housing and the front panel closes the opening therein. The housing is provided with an opening at the lower portion thereof for the removal of mail therefrom. This opening may be closed by any suitable type of closure member which may be provided with any suitable type of locking means. In this manner, the receptacle of this invention is tamper-proof and theft-proof.

United States Patent 1191 1451 Apr. 1, 1975 MAIL RECEPTACLE [76]Inventor: Ralph E. Moll, 643 South St.,

Casper, Wyo. 82601 22 Filed: Apr. 12, 1973 211 App]. No.: 350,585

Primary Examiner-Francis K. Zugel [57] ABSTRACT A mail receptaclecomprising a housing having forwardly and upwardly inclined front andrear walls, with the rear wall merging upwardly with a curved upper wallextending over and forwardly of the front wall to define a front openingin the housing. A door or baffle member is disposed within the housingopening and is hingedly connected to the upper portion of the frontwall. The door member has a front panel and a rear panel having a shapeand size that are substantially the same as those of the opening in thehousing. The door member is pivotally movable between an open positionwherein mail may be received on the front panel thereof and the rearpanel thereof closes the opening in the housing, and a closed positionwherein both the front and rear panels thereof are received within thehousing and the front panel closes the opening therein. The housing isprovided with an opening at the lower portion thereof for the removal ofmail therefrom. This opening may be closed by any suitable type ofclosure member which may be provided with any suitable type of lockingmeans. In this manner, the receptacle of this invention is tamperproofand theft-proof.

3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures MAIL RECEPTACLE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to a mail receptacle and, more particularly, tosuch a receptacle that is tamper-proof, theftproof and adapted for usefor curbside or rural delivery and home delivery.

For many years, certain types of mail receptacles have been utilized forrural or curbside delivery, as weli as home delivery. While thesereceptacles have generally served the purpose, they have been subject toone or more of the following disadvantages:

1. they have not been theft-proof or tamper-proof;

2. they have not been of sufficient size to accomodate various types ofmail;

3. for rural or curbside delivery, their doors have opened outwardly andhave extended a substantial distance from the housing, with the resultthat mail delivery vehicles have difficulty in approaching close enoughto the mail receptacle for the delivery or pickup of mail;

4. they are difficult to install adequately on posts or other supports;

5. their doors have been poorly designed so as to be difficult to openand close, or to inadequately prevent moisture from entering the mailreceptacle;

6. they have been complicated in construction and thus costly tomanufacture; and

7. they have not been sufficiently durable and thus have not been usablefor long periods of time.

A need has arisen, therefore, for an improved mail receptacle for ruralor curbside delivery and home delivery, which is an improvement over theexisting mail receptacles and is not subject to any of the abovedisadvantages. The mail receptacle of the present invention is notsubject to any of the above disadvantages and possesses many advantagesnot possessed by the mail receptacles theretofore known or used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The mail receptacle of the present inventioncomprises a housing having forwardly and upwardly inclined, elongated,sustantially parallel front and rear walls, with the rear wall mergingupwardly with a curved upper wall extending forwardly of and over theupper portion of the front wall. The center of rotation of curved upperwall is approximately at the upper end of the front wall. Upwardlyextending, substantially parallel side walls connect the front and rearwalls, and each comprises an upper sector-shaped portion which extendsfrom the upper portion of the front wall to the curved upper wall todefine an opening in the front upper portion of the housing.

A door or baffle member is pivotally connected to the upper portion ofthe front wall by any suitable type of hinge means and is provided withfront and rear panels having a shape and size that are substantially thesame as those of the front opening in the housing. The front and rearpanels of the door member are connected by sector-shaped side panelsthat are adapted to fit closely within the curved upper wall of thehousing.

The door member is pivotally movable relative to the housing between anopen position wherein its front panel extends outwardly and slightlyforwardly of the housing and its rear panel serves to close the openingin the housing, and a closed position wherein its front and rear panelsare disposed within the housing and the front panel serves to close theopening in the housing. The front panel is provided with a handle memberthat facilitates the movement of the door member from the closed to theopen position and also engages the front wall of the housing to limitthe opening movement of the door member.

One of the side walls of the housing is provided with an opening at itslower portion having a movable closure member that may be locked in anysuitable manner. When the closure member is opened, mail may beconveniently removed from the housing through the opening in the sidewall. At other times, the locked closure member serves to prevent theremoval of mail from the housing.

The lower portion of the front wall of the housing may be provided withan upwardly facing receptacle portion or pocket for holding outgoingmail to be picked up by the mail carrier.

One or more substantially L-shaped brackets may be used to support themail receptacle on a support means, such as a post or a wall. EachL-shaped bracket comprises a lower leg adapted to be secured to thebottom wall of the housing and an upper leg adapted to be secured to thesupport member. Since the rear wall of the housing is inclined forwardlyand upwardly, it defines a wedge-shaped opening with the upper leg ofthe support bracket, thereby providing an area in which larger packages,such as records, magazines and the like may be received and supported.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a mailreceptacle constructed in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view of the mail receptacle shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view, taken substantially along lines 33 in FIG.2, with the door member shown in a closed position; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 3, showing the door member inan open position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As illustrated in FIGS. 1through 4, the mail receptacle 10 of the present invention comprises ahousing 12 and a door member 14 movably mounted on the housing. Thehousing 12 may be mounted on a suitable support S, such as a post or thelike, by one or more L- shaped brackets 16 (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

The housing 12 comprises upwardly and forwardly inclined, elongated,substantially parallel front and rear walls 18 and 20, respectively. Asan illustrative example, the front and rear walls 18 and 20 may beinclined at an angle of approximately 10 to a vertical plane. The frontwall 18 and rear wall 20 are connected by a bottom wall 22 and upwardlyextending, substantially parallel side walls 24. The rear wall 20 mergesat its upper end with a curved upper wall 26 having its center ofrotation approximately at the upper end of the front wall and extendingabove and forwardly of the upper end of the front wall 18, and each ofthe side walls 24 has an upper sector-shaped portion merging with thecurved upper wall 26 to define a front opening 28 in the upper portionof the housing 12. Each side wall 24 terminates upwardly in an obliqueend surface extending from the upper end of the front wall to the outerend of the upper wall.

The door or baffle member 14 is pivotally connected to the housing 12,e.g., at the upper portion of the front wall 18, by any suitable hingemeans 30, such as a piano hinge or the like. The door member 14comprises a front panel 32 and a rear panel 34, both extendingsubstantially radially outwardly from the hinge point 30 and beingseparated by any suitable angle, e. g., approximately 165 as anillustrative example. The front and rear panels 32 and 34 are connectedby substantially parallel, sector-shaped side panels 36.

As seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the front panel 32 and rear panel 34 of thedoor member 14 extend substantially radially outwardly to a pointclosely adjacent to the inner surface of the curved upper wall 26, andthe side panels 36 of the door member 14 are positioned closely adjacentto the side walls 24 of the housing 12, with the result that the doormember 14 substantially completely fills the front opening 28 in theupper portion of the housing.

The door member 14 is provided with a handle member 38 of any suitableconstruction secured to the front panel 32 thereof in any suitablemanner and in any desired position. Preferably, the handle member 38comprises a convex upper surface 40 and an upwardly and outwardlyinclined front surface 42. The door member 14 is pivotally movable aboutthe hinge 30 between the closed position shown in FIG. 3 and the openposition shown in FIG. 4. In the closed position, the rear panel 34 ofthe door member 14 engages the adjacent inner surface of the front wall18 of the housing 12, and the front panel 32 of the door member 14 ispositioned inwardly of the upper portion of the housing and serves toclose the front opening 28 therein.

In the open position of the door member 14 shown in FIG. 4, the frontsurface 40 of the handle member 38 engages the outer surface of thefront wall 18 of the housing 12 to limit the opening movement of thedoor member 14, and the front panel 32 of the door member 14 is disposedoutwardly of the housing 12 for the depositing of mail thereon. In orderto retain mail on the front panel 32, the door member 14 is providedwith a front flange 44 extending upwardly from the outer portion of thefront panel 32 between the side panels 36. When in the open position,the rear panel 34 of the door member 14 serves to close the opening 28in the housing 12 to prevent access to the housing, thereby preventingtampering with or theft of mail from the housing 12 even when the doormember 14 is in the open position.

At the bottom of one of the side walls 24, an opening is provided forthe removal of mail deposited in the housing 12. This opening is adaptedto be closed by a closure member 46 that is pivotally or otherwisemovably mounted on the housing 12 in any suitable manner, such as by ahinge 48 (see FIG. 2). The closure member 46 may be provided with anysuitable type of locking means, such as a padlock 50 secured to thehousing 12 by a chain 52. The size of the opening in the side wall 24 ofthe housing 12, and the size of the closure member 46, are determined bythe size of the opening 28 in the upper portion of the housing 12. Inother words, the closure member 46 is of a size sufficient to enablemail of maximum size fitting within the opening 28 to be removed fromthe housing l2.

At the lower portion of the front wall 18 of the housing 12, an upwardlyopening receptacle portion 54 is provided which extends laterallythroughout a substantial portion of the width of the front wall 18. Thereceptacle portion 54 is for the purpose of receiving and retainingoutgoing mail to be picked up by the mail carrier. For the purpose ofalerting the mail carrier to the outgoing mail to be picked up in thereceptacle portion 54, a conventional flag member 56 of any suitableconstruction may be movably mounted in any suitable manner on thehousing 12.

The L-shaped supporting bracket 16 comprises a lower leg 58 that issecured to the bottom wall 22 of the housing in any suitable manner, andan upper leg 60 that is secured to the support member S in any suitablemanner. Since the rear wall 20 of the housing 12 is inclined upwardlyand forwardly away from the upper leg 60 of the supporting bracket 16, awedge-shaped space W is defined therebetween. Items of mail that arerelatively narrow and too long in one dimension to fit within theopening 28 in the housing 12 may be placed in the wedge-shaped space Wand retained therein by wedging them between the rear wall 20 of thehousing 12 and the upper arm 60' of the supporting bracket 16.

As will be apparent from the foregoing description, since the housing 12is inclined upwardly and outwardly away from the supporting member S, amail delivery or pick-up vehicle may be conveniently parked near thefront portion of the housing without danger of hitting and damaging thesupport member. In addition, since the door member 14 extends onlyslightly outwardly beyond the housing 12 when in the open position, themail delivery vehicle may be parked close to the housing 12 withoutaffecting the opening or closing movement of the door member 14.

When the door member 14 is in the open position shown in FIG. 4, mailmay be conveniently deposited on the front panel 32 of the door member14 and will be retained thereon by the front flange 44 of the doormember. In this position, the inner panel 34 of the door member preventsaccess to the inner portion of the housing 12. When the door member 14is rotated in a clockwise direction from the open position shown in FIG.4 to the closed position shown in FIG. 3, the mail deposited on thefront panel 32 thereof will slide inwardly along the front panel 32 andrear panel 34 and fall downwardly into the lower portion of the housing12. This mail may then be conveniently removed from the housing 12 byunlocking and opening the closure member 46 to expose the opening in theside wall 24 of the housing. Since the curved upper wall 26 of thehousing 12 extends forwardly beyond the front wall 18 of the housing,and the door member 14 is recessed within the curved upper wall 26 whenin the closed position, precipitation in the form of rain or snow iseffectively prevented from entering the housing 12 of the re ceptacleportion 54.

The specific shape of the housing 12 and the door member 14, asdisclosed herein for te purposes of a preferred embodiment, may bevaried without departing from the principles of this invention. Also,the housing 12 and door member 14 may be formed of any suitablematerial.

What is claimed is:

1. A mail receptacle, comprising:

a housing having a bottom wall, a front wall with hinge means disposedat the upper end thereof, and

a curved upper wall extending over and forwardly of the upper end ofsaid front wall to define a first opening in the front upper portion ofsaid housing, said upper wall having a center approximately at saidhinge means, said front wall extending upwardly and forwardly from saidbottom wall at an acute angle to a vertical plane, and said housingfurther comprising a rear wall extending upwardly and outwardly fromsaid bottom wall in substantially parallel relation to said front wall,said bottom wall connecting said front wall and said rear wall;

a door member disposed within said first opening and being pivotallymounted on said housing by said hinge means;

said door member having a front panel and a rear panel spaced from saidfront panel, said front and rear panels extending substantially radiallyoutwardly from said hinge means;

said door member being movable between an open position wherein saidfront panel extends outwardly of said housing to receive mail thereonand said rear panel is positioned to close said first opening, and aclosed position wherein said front and rear panels are disposed withinsaid housing and said front panel is positioned to close said firstopening;

said door member further comprising side panels disposed adjacentopposite sides of said housing and extending from said front panel tosaid rear panel, said side panels being of sectorshape, and a flangeextending upwardly from the outer end of said front panel and extendingbetween said side panels to retain mail deposited on said front panelwhen said door member is disposed in said open position;

said housing having a second opening in a lower portion thereof forremoval of mail therefrom, and closure means for said second opening;

means for locking said closure means;

support means for said receptacle, said support means comprising asubstantially L-shaped bracket having a lower leg fixedly secured tosaid bottom wall and an upper leg extending substantially verticallyupwardly and defining a wedge-shaped space with the adjacent outersurface of said inclined rear wall for the reception of large articlesof mail that cannot conveniently fit within said first opening of saidhousing, said wedge-shaped space being open at its upper end so as to beadapted to receive articles of greater height than said housing; and

a receptacle portion secured to the lower outer portion of said frontwall of said housing for the reception of outgoing mail, said receptacleportion having a closed bottom and an open upper end, the upper andfront walls of said housing extending over and forwardly of saidreceptacle portion to serve as a protective cover therefor, owing to theforward inclination of said front wall.

2. The mail receptacle of claim 1 wherein a handle member is mounted onthe outer surface of said front panel of said door member, said handlemember engaging the outer surface of said front wall of said housingwhen said door member is in said open position to limit the openingmovement of said door member.

3. The mail receptacle of claim 2 wherein the outer surface of saidhandle member is substantially parallel to the outer surface of saidfront wall when said door member is in said open position.

1. A mail receptacle, comprising: a housing having a bottom wall, afront wall with hinge means disposed at the upper end thereof, and acurved upper wall extending over and forwardly of the upper end of saidfront wall to define a first opening in the front upper portion of saidhousing, said upper wall having a center approximately at said hingemeans, said front wall extending upwardly and forwardly from said bottomwall at an acute angle to a vertical plane, and said housing furthercomprising a rear wall extending upwardly and outwardly from said bottomwall in substantially parallel relation to said front wall, said bottomwall connecting said front wall and said rear wall; a door memberdisposed within said first opening and being pivotally mounted on saidhousing by said hinge means; said door member having a front panel and arear panel spaced from said front panel, said front and rear panelsextending substantially radially outwardly from said hinge means; saiddoor member being movable between an open position wherein said frontpanel extends outwardly of said housing to receive mail thereon and saidrear panel is positioned to close said first opening, and a closedposition wherein said front and rear panels are disposed within saiDhousing and said front panel is positioned to close said first opening;said door member further comprising side panels disposed adjacentopposite sides of said housing and extending from said front panel tosaid rear panel, said side panels being of sectorshape, and a flangeextending upwardly from the outer end of said front panel and extendingbetween said side panels to retain mail deposited on said front panelwhen said door member is disposed in said open position; said housinghaving a second opening in a lower portion thereof for removal of mailtherefrom, and closure means for said second opening; means for lockingsaid closure means; support means for said receptacle, said supportmeans comprising a substantially L-shaped bracket having a lower legfixedly secured to said bottom wall and an upper leg extendingsubstantially vertically upwardly and defining a wedge-shaped space withthe adjacent outer surface of said inclined rear wall for the receptionof large articles of mail that cannot conveniently fit within said firstopening of said housing, said wedge-shaped space being open at its upperend so as to be adapted to receive articles of greater height than saidhousing; and a receptacle portion secured to the lower outer portion ofsaid front wall of said housing for the reception of outgoing mail, saidreceptacle portion having a closed bottom and an open upper end, theupper and front walls of said housing extending over and forwardly ofsaid receptacle portion to serve as a protective cover therefor, owingto the forward inclination of said front wall.
 2. The mail receptacle ofclaim 1 wherein a handle member is mounted on the outer surface of saidfront panel of said door member, said handle member engaging the outersurface of said front wall of said housing when said door member is insaid open position to limit the opening movement of said door member. 3.The mail receptacle of claim 2 wherein the outer surface of said handlemember is substantially parallel to the outer surface of said front wallwhen said door member is in said open position.